Two weeks ago I experienced Disneyland for the first time in my life, and I must admit, I was a little skeptical at first about going there as an adult. I have always been afraid of roller coasters; and before I visited I thought Disneyland was mostly a place for children and families.

To my great surprise, there were just as many adults in Disneyland as there were children and families, and the adults were just as dedicated Disneyland fans as the children.

Many adults were walking around with Minnie Mouse ears, Pluto Hats and T-shirts with different Disney characters. A lot of couples were wearing matching Disneyland merchandise and I even saw some grandparents wearing matching Mickey Mouse ears.

We don’t really have theme parks like Disneyland in Denmark, and I would be really surprised to see adults wearing merchandise from any of the theme parks we have in Denmark. One of the most popular theme parks we have in Denmark is Legoland, but it is not in any way as big as Disneyland.

As I said in the beginning, I was skeptical about going to Disneyland, but after visiting I really do understand why people love that place so much. It is like all of your childhood memories gathered in one place, and I see why it is called “The happiest place on earth.”

In Denmark, we have a kids show called “Disney fun” and visiting Disneyland was just like experiencing that program in real life. The light show in the evening was magic and the fireworks were the perfect ending to a magical day. It was like being 5 years old again, and I actually considered buying Minnie Mouse ears.

Mathilde Rousseau Bjerregaard is from Aarhus, Denmark. She is an editorial intern with San Diego Community Newspaper Group. Contact her at mathilde@sdnews.com.